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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25757563">When You Can't Sleep</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emily_F6/pseuds/Emily_F6'>Emily_F6</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Peter Parker Prompts [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Hero Peter Parker, Irondad, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:22:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,268</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25757563</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emily_F6/pseuds/Emily_F6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony comforts a sleepy Peter.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Peter Parker &amp; Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Peter Parker Prompts [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1866505</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>240</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>When You Can't Sleep</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Prompt: Tony and sleepy Peter</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony scrolled on his tablet, eyes watering a little from their need to close.  He blinked a few times, trying to clear them as he adjusted something on the screen.  These blueprints were due in less than six hours, and he’d already pushed the deadline back twice.  One more time, he thought, and Pepper might just fire his ass.  Not that she could actually fire him…but she would be upset.  And he hated upsetting Pepper…well, about the company.  The world was fully back to normal, it seemed, and people wanted the newest Stark Phone.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Never mind he’d already helped save the universe.  Now they needed new phones!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t been the one to actually save the universe, he reminded himself, the reminder just as painful this time as it had been every other time.  Tony had expected to die in that battle.  He’d even recorded a message for his family…for Morgan and Pepper and, of course, Peter, on the off chance that he’d be able to bring everyone back.  And he had.  He’d figured out time travel.  He’d brought Peter back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The soft sound of bare feet on the wood floor made him look up, and his heart clenched when he caught sight of the boy, bleary eyed as he stood in the doorway to the living room.  It had been almost three weeks, and Peter’s arm was still in a sling, wrapped in bandages that covered slowly fading burn scars.  His neck and the left side of his face were covered with those same scars, and despite all his protests to the contrary, Tony knew they hurt him.  The snap that would have killed Tony had left Peter in a coma for the better part of three days…but then he’d woken up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>May had agreed to let Peter stay at the lakehouse, considering his secret identity and the scars, not to mention the physical therapy that Sam Wilson drove out to give him every other day.  Tony had offered to take Peter to him instead, but Sam had insisted it was fine…that he liked the drive, but Tony had a feeling he just didn’t want Peter to be cooped up in a car for two hours three days a week.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, bud.  What are you doing up?” Tony asked in a voice that, until three weeks ago, had been reserved for his youngest child.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Couldn’t sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?  Come here.”  Forgetting all about the blueprints and taking note of the time, 3:04am, Tony put the tablet on the coffee table and lifted an arm.  Without hesitating, Peter moved over to his side and sat, filling the spot under Tony’s arm perfectly.  He wrapped the arm around his boy, pressing a kiss to the top of Peter’s head when he dropped it on Tony’s shoulder.  “Why can’t you sleep?”  He asked, the redness of Peter’s eyes and the way he’d sniff occasionally, breath catching just a little, giving him a clue.  Still, he asked.  Instead of answering, Peter just shrugged.  “Nightmares?” he prompted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter shrugged again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d been doing so well.  Since he’d woken up, Peter had been handling all of this better than expected.  He’d been happy to meet Morgan, and he’d spent plenty of time over the last few weeks chatting with her and watching movies with her and playing with her as best he could.  At first, walking had been really hard for him, but he’d been working hard and recovering and now there was only the hint of a limp.  Morgan knew to be careful with him, and Peter, Tony knew, would do anything for her.  He seemed happy during the day, facetiming with his aunt and his friends, and sitting in the lab with Tony, the two of them working on a redesign of his suit.  But Tony knew better than anyone that the nights were different.  The nights were harder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“About Thanos?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter shuddered at the name and Tony pressed another kiss to his hair.  The boy took a shaky breath and Tony debated with himself, caught between the urge to comfort and the urge to push.  In the end, neither choice was necessary. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…I…keep dreaming…dreaming about him…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, kiddo.”  Tony rubbed his good shoulder, his left shoulder still bandaged…still being monitored by Helen who also made weekly trips out to the lakehouse.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He…he killed you…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony straightened a little at that, frowning down at the boy who didn’t look up…just keep talking, voice wavering.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I keep dreaming…that he…he kills you and…”  He broke off, eyes shut as he buried his face in Tony’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Buddy…hey, look at me,” Tony murmured, squeezing him in a hug, then dipping his face down to meet his red, watery eyes.  “It’s just a dream.  I promise.  I’m right here.  I got you back and you…hell, kid, you saved the universe.”  Bringing a hand up, he rubbed a thumb gently under Peter’s eye, careful of the scars there.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter gave a watery smile.  “You helped.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s right I did.  We saved the universe.”  He squeezed Peter again, and the boy rested his head on Tony’s shoulder.  It was something Tony had never thought he’d get to experience.  Before the boy had disappeared…had been turned to dust, Tony had never quite let him in.  Had never let him close enough to offer a real hug…to just hold the boy he’d learned to love like his own son.  And after making it back to earth, he’d been sure that he’d never get to make it right.  That he’d never be able to tell Peter how much he loved him.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he’d gotten a second chance.  He wasn’t about to waste it.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy settled in at his side, snuggling in a little, head resting on Tony’s shoulder.  “You want to go back to bed, Pete?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head.  “Comfy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony snorted.  “Really?  My shoulder can’t be more comfortable than your pillow.  I paid $95 for that pillow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, Peter was quiet, and Tony thought the boy might have fallen asleep.  But then he spoke, voice so quiet it was almost a whisper.  “I wanted to be with you.  I won’t have nightmares if I’m with you.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony closed his eyes when they grew hot, taking a deep breath to keep his voice from wavering.  “Yeah?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, buddy.  We’ll have a sleepover, huh?”  Tony reached back, grabbing a blanket thrown over the back of the sofa, and wrapped it around both of them.  “You could have told me, you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t want to bother you,” Peter murmured, eyes shut tight, muscles relaxing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could never,” Tony whispered, resting his cheek on the side of his head.  “I love you, buddy.  You know that, right?  I love you so much.  I don’t know what I would have done if…if you hadn’t…”  Just the thought…the thought of Peter laying on that battlefield, the gauntlet on his left hand smoking, burns covering the entire left side of his face, made his heart clench.  He couldn’t bear it.  Didn’t think he could have survived losing Peter again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he didn’t have to.  Because Peter was alive.  His boy was alive and fast asleep on his shoulder, and Tony would spend a thousand sleepless nights on the sofa as long as Peter was with him.  Lifting his arm to grab the tablet, he froze when Peter muttered in his sleep, then lowered it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The phone would just have to wait.  Pepper would understand.</span>
</p>
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